a retired Navy Captain and Executive Director of the American Society of Civil Engineers, died February 11, 2006, at his home in Bethesda, Maryland.
Captain Meier was born in Hawthorne, California and was a resident of Bethesda, Maryland and Portsmouth, Rhode Island. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and attended Georgetown University Law School as well as the U.S. Naval War College. He was admitted to the Virginia State Bar, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Supreme Court.
He served in multiple theatres in World War II; first on the flagship for commander Battleships Pacific Fleet and then in the Pacific raids including Treasury Bouganville, Marianas, Western Carolines, Leyte, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He also saw action in the European-African-Middle Eastern Arena and the liberation of the Philippines.
He holds the Navy Unit Commendation for outstanding service on board the USS Birmingham on October 24, 1944. Following the war he was White House Naval Aide to President Truman. Subsequently he served as Senior Aide to the Commander in Chief Allied Forces, Southern Europe. Thereafter he was Special Assistant to Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gates and later the Legal and Legislative Assistant to General Wheeler, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff. He commanded the Guided Missile Destroyer Squadron 18 completing 8 career deployments to the Sixth Fleet and 2 deployments to the Seventh Fleet. His final active duty assignment was on the USN Policy and Planning Staff in the Office of Secretary of State.
In 1972 he retired from the Navy having received the Legion of Merit Award, 3 Battleship Efficiency Awards on the USS Gherardi and the USS McCain.
For the next decade he was Washington counsel to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), finally serving as its Executive Director based in New York City until his retirement in 1983.
He was bestowed with ASCE's President's Award for distinguished service to the country and civil engineering profession.
Survivors include his wife of 51 years Eleanora Tomacelli Filomarino Meier; four daughters, Renee Meier of New York City, Sharon Clark of Ridgewood, New Jersey, Catherine Meier Gallo of Rome, Italy and Marina Taylor of Bethesda, Maryland. He is also survived by his brother Raymond Meier; and six grandchildren Andrew, Courtney and Justin Clark, Francesco and Ludovico Gallo, and Eleanor Taylor.
Captain Meier will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors on May 3, 2006.